page_title: Viscum album
section_title: Scandinavia
hierarchical_section_title: Viscum album / Culture, folklore and mythology / Scandinavia
caption_attribution_description: English: "Each arrow overshot his head" by Elmer Boyd Smith. Allowing his fellow gods to test his new found invincibility, the shining god Baldr is attacked by his fellow gods who make a game of it. In the background, the god Odin and his wife, the goddess Frigg, sit enthroned. In the foreground, the disguised Loki gives Baldr's blind brother Höðr an arrow affixed with mistletoe (the one thing that can harm Baldr), which results in Baldr's death.
context_page_description: Viscum album is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae, commonly known as European mistletoe, common mistletoe or simply as mistletoe. It is native to Europe and western and southern Asia.
  Viscum album is a hemiparasite on several species of trees, from which it draws water and nutrients. It has a significant role in European mythology, legends, and customs. In modern times, it is commonly featured in Christmas decoration and symbology.
context_section_description: According to the 13th century Prose Edda, the goddess Frigg had all living and inanimate things swear an oath not to hurt her son Baldr. At a gathering, other gods tested the oath by hurling stones, arrows and fire at him, all in vain. But Frigg had not demanded the oath from mistletoe, because "it seemed too young" for that.  By a scheming of Loki, Baldr's brother, the blind god Höðr made an arrow from mistletoe and killed Baldr with it.
  In the Gesta Danorum version of the story, Baldr and Höðr are rival suitors, and Höðr kills Baldr with a sword named Mistilteinn (Old Norse "mistletoe"). In addition, a sword by the same name appears in various other Norse legends.
caption: Each arrow overshot his head (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith, depicting the blind god Höðr shooting his brother, the god Baldr, with a mistletoe arrow
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2008:08:20 21:41:02", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "302", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9235", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "464", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "756"}